Stupak promises help with repair of Crooked River lock

March 19, 2007|By Fred Gray News-Review Staff Writer

Congressman Bart Stupak told a town hall meeting in Petoskey on Friday that repair of the Crooked River lock in Alanson is "on the radar screen" and he will work with Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow on the project, which locals deem critical to their economy.

Stupak said a request for funding the repair may come to the Senate-House reconciliation conference, where he promised to use his influence.

Stupak said it is too late this year to request additional appropriations to repair the lock, which links Crooked and Pickerel lakes to the rest of the 40-mile long Inland Waterway. But he said that may not be necessary.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources, which operates the lock under an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, reported this month that the lock is shut down and won't be able to open this spring without repairs.

Advertisement

The DNR said the Army Corps has agreed to send an engineer from Sault Ste. Marie to inspect the lock, determine what needs to be fixed, and estimate the costs of repair.

Stupak responded to several people with homes on Crooked Lake who questioned him at the early morning town hall meeting before an audience of more than 100 at North Central Michigan College.

"I know very little about it," Stupak said. "I don't remember that being one of our appropriation requests. If it (the problem) just came up, it's too late. All requests were due Feb. 28."

"It doesn't mean it may not get done. The Army Corps may have been appropriated money to do this. They don't need a special appropriation to do it. Nor do they need a special appropriations to do the breakwater. It's under their operations and maintenance budget."

"If the senators have assured you they are working on it, I am confident they are," Stupak said. "If they need me to put some gas on the House side on the project, believe me, we're talking all the time and they will tell me. It is not unusual for our staff to say, "You run this project because you have a greater chance on the Senate side than we do on the House side."

"So we play off with each other, and I'm sure that's what's happening with our staff. This week we had four hearings and I haven't even been in my office in two weeks."

"It's on our radar screen," Stupak assured the questioner. "I wouldn't be surprised if Senators Levin and Stabenow will take care of it and they will come to me and say, 'Hold it in (Senate-House reconciliation) conference.' And we will."